Molecular evolution of P transposable elements in the genus Drosophila. III. The melanogaster species group

Phylogenetic relationships were determined for 76 partial P-element sequences from 14 species of the melanogaster species group within the Drosophila subgenus Sophophora. These results are examined in the context of the phylogeny of the species from which the sequences were isolated. Sequences from the P-element family fall into distinct subfamilies, or clades, which are often characteristic for particular species subgroups. When examined locally among closely related species, the evolution of P elements is characterized by vertical transmission, whereby the P-element phylogeny traces the species phylogeny. On a broader scale, however, the P-element phylogeny is not congruent with the species phylogeny. One feature of P-element evolution in the melanogaster group is the presence of more than one P-element subfamily, differing by as much as 36%, in the genomes of some species. Thus, P elements from several individual species are not monophyletic, and a likely explanation for the incongruence between P-element and species phylogenies is provided by the comparison of paralogous sequences. In certain instances, horizontal transfer seems to be a valid alternative explanation for lack of congruence between species and P-element phylogenies. The canonical P-element subfamily, which represents the active, autonomous transposable element, is restricted to D. melanogaster. Thus, its origin clearly lies outside of the melanogaster species group, consistent with the earlier conclusion of recent horizontal transfer.      

A Home-Based Educational Intervention Improves Patient Activation Measures and Diabetes Health Indicators among Zuni Indians

Introduction

One in three people will be diagnosed with diabetes by 2050, and the proportion will likely be higher among Native Americans. Diabetes control is currently suboptimal in underserved populations despite a plethora of new therapies. Patient empowerment is a key determinant of diabetes control, but such empowerment can be difficult to achieve due to resource limitation and cultural, language and health literacy barriers. We describe a home-based educational intervention using Community Health Representatives (CHRs), leading to improvement in Patient Activation Measures scores and clinical indicators of diabetes control.

Methods

Sixty participants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) completed a baseline evaluation including physical exam, Point of Care (POC) testing, and the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) survey. Participants then underwent a one hour group didactic session led by Community Health Representatives (CHRs) who subsequently carried out monthly home-based educational interventions to encourage healthy lifestyles, including diet, exercise, and alcohol and cigarette avoidance until follow up at 6 months, when clinical phenotyping and the PAM survey were repeated.

Results

PAM scores were increased by at least one level in 35 (58%) participants, while 24 participants who started at higher baseline score did not change. Six months after intervention, mean levels of A1C decreased by 0.7 ± 1.2%; fasting blood glucose decreased by 24.0 ± 38.0 mg/dl; BMI decreased by 1.5 ± 2.1 kg/m2; total cholesterol decreased by 12.0± 28.0 mg/dl; and triglycerides decreased by 52.0 ± 71.0 mg/dl. All of these changes were statistically significant (p<0.05).

Conclusion

This six month, CHR led and community-oriented educational intervention helps inform standards of practice for the management of diabetes, engages diabetic populations in their own care, and reduces health disparities for the underserved population of Zuni Indians.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02339311     

Activities of Wogonin Analogs and Other Flavones against Flavobacterium columnare

In our on‐going pursuit to discover natural products and natural product‐based compounds to control the bacterial species Flavobacterium columnare, which causes columnaris disease in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), we synthesized flavone and chalcone analogs, and evaluated these compounds, along with flavonoids from natural sources, for their antibacterial activities against two isolates of F. columnare (ALM‐00‐173 and BioMed) using a rapid bioassay. The flavonoids chrysin ( 1a ), 5,7‐dihydroxy‐4′‐methoxyflavone ( 11 ), isorhamnetin ( 26 ), luteolin ( 27 ), and biochanin A ( 29 ), and chalcone derivative 8b showed strong antibacterial activities against F. columnare ALM‐00‐173 based on minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) results. Flavonoids 1a, 8, 11, 13 (5,4′‐dihydroxy‐7‐methoxyflavone), 26 , and 29 exhibited strong antibacterial activities against F. columnare BioMed based upon MIC results. The 24‐h 50% inhibition concentration (IC₅₀) results revealed that 27 and 29 were the most active compounds against F. columnare ALM‐00‐173 (IC₅₀ of 7.5 and 8.5 mg/l, resp.), while 26 and 29 were the most toxic compound against F. columnare BioMed (IC₅₀ of 9.2 and 3.5 mg/l, resp.). These IC₅₀ results were lower than those obtained for wogonin against F. columnare ALM‐00‐173 and F. columnare BioMed (28.4 and 5.4 mg/l, resp.). However, based on MIC results, none of the compounds evaluated in this study were as active as wogonin (MIC 0.3 mg/l for each F. columnare isolate). Further modification of the wogonin structure to enhance antibacterial is of interest.     

Expression of the Foraging Gene Is Associated with Age Polyethism,Not Task Preference,in the Ant Cardiocondyla obscurior

One of the fundamental principles of social organization, age polyethism, describes behavioral maturation of workers leading to switches in task preference. Here we present a system that allows for studying division of labor (DOL) by taking advantage of the relative short life of Cardiocondyla obscurior workers and thereby the pace of behavioral transitions. By challenging same-age young and older age cohorts to de novo establish DOL into nurse and foraging tasks and by forcing nurses to precociously become foragers and vice versa we studied expression patterns of one of the best known candidates for social insect worker behavior, the foraging gene. Contrary to our expectations we found that foraging gene expression correlates with age, but not with the task foraging per se. This suggests that this nutrition-related gene, and the pathways it is embedded in, correlates with physiological changes over time and potentially primes, but not determines task preference of individual workers.     

Modelling competition and hybridization between native cutthroat trout and nonnative rainbow and hybrid trout

Native salmonid fish have been displaced worldwide by nonnatives through hybridization, competition, and predation, but the dynamics of these factors are poorly understood. We apply stochastic Lotka-Volterra models to the displacement of cutthroat trout by rainbow/hybrid trout in the Snake River, Idaho, USA. Cutthroat trout are susceptible to hybridization in the river but are reproductively isolated in tributaries via removal of migratory rainbow/hybrid spawners at weirs. Based on information-theoretic analysis, population data provide evidence that hybridization was the primary mechanism for cutthroat trout displacement in the first 17 years of the invasion. However, under some parameter values, the data provide evidence for a model in which interaction occurs among fish from both river and tributary subpopulations. This situation is likely to occur when tributary-spawned cutthroat trout out-migrate to the river as fry. The resulting competition with rainbow/hybrid trout can result in the extinction of cutthroat trout even when reproductive segregation is maintained.     

Noisy-threshold control of cell death

Background  

Cellular responses to death-promoting stimuli typically proceed through a differentiated multistage process, involving a lag phase, extensive death, and potential adaptation. Deregulation of this chain of events is at the root of many diseases. Improper adaptation is particularly important because it allows cell sub-populations to survive even in the continuous presence of death conditions, which results, among others, in the eventual failure of many targeted anticancer therapies.     

Proteomic analysis of zymogen granules

Zymogen granules (ZGs) are specialized storage organelles in the exocrine pancreas that allow the sorting, packaging and regulated apical secretion of digestive enzymes. ZG constituents play important roles in pancreatic injury and disease. The molecular mechanisms underlying these processes are still poorly defined. Thus, there is currently great interest in the identification and characterization of ZG components. Recent proteomic studies have greatly enhanced our knowledge regarding potential new 'players' in ZG biogenesis and regulated secretion. In this article, we present the latest advancements in and insights into the analysis of the ZG proteome by the combination of organelle isolation, protein separation, mass spectrometry and validation of protein identification. Recent developments in the analysis of ZG proteins from pancreatic juice and related proteins from saliva are also discussed.     

Mammalian peroxisomes and reactive oxygen species

The central role of peroxisomes in the generation and scavenging of hydrogen peroxide has been well known ever since their discovery almost four decades ago. Recent studies have revealed their involvement in metabolism of oxygen free radicals and nitric oxide that have important functions in intra- and intercellular signaling. The analysis of the role of mammalian peroxisomes in a variety of physiological and pathological processes involving reactive oxygen species (ROS) is the subject of this review. The general characteristics of peroxisomes and their enzymes involved in the metabolism of ROS are briefly reviewed. An expansion of the peroxisomal compartment with proliferation of tubular peroxisomes is observed in cells exposed to UV irradiation and various oxidants and is apparently accompanied by upregulation of PEX genes. Significant reduction of peroxisomes and their enzymes is observed in inflammatory processes including infections, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and allograft rejection and seems to be related to the suppressive effect of tumor necrosis factor- on peroxisome function and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-. Xenobiotic-induced proliferation of peroxisomes in rodents is accompanied by the formation of hepatic tumors, and evidently the imbalance in generation and decomposition of ROS plays an important role in this process. In PEX5^–/– knockout mice lacking functional peroxisomes severe alterations of mitochondria in various organs are observed which seem to be due to a generalized increase in oxidative stress confirming the important role of peroxisomes in homeostasis of ROS and the implications of its disturbances for cell pathology.     

Characterization of amino Acid efflux from isolated soybean cells

Cells from reproductive soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) plants were isolated using a mechanical-enzymic technique that produced a high yield of uniform, physiologically active cells. Cells were incubated in a pH 6.0 buffered solution and subjected to various treatments in order to determine the nature of net amino acid efflux. Total net amino acid (ninhydrinreactive substances) efflux was not affected by the following conditions: (a) darkness, (b) aeration, (c) K⁺ concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, 10, or 100 millimolar and (d) pH 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. The Q₁₀ for net amino acid efflux between 10°C and 30°C was 1.6. Thus, it seems that net amino acid efflux requires neither current photosynthetic energy nor a pH/ion concentration gradient. Amino acid analyses of the intra-and extracellular fractions over time showed that each amino acid was exported linearly for at least 210 minutes, but that export rate was not necessarily related to internal amino acid pools. Amino acids that were exported fastest were alanine, lysine, leucine, and glycine. Addition of the inhibitor p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonic acid, 3(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, or carbonylcyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone increased the rate of total amino acid efflux but had specific effects on the efflux of certain amino acids. For example, p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonic acid greatly enhanced efflux of γ-aminobutyric acid, which is not normally exported rapidly even though a high concentration normally exists within cells. The data suggest that net amino acid efflux is a selective diffusional process. Because net efflux is the result of simultaneous efflux and influx, we propose that efflux is a facilitated diffusion process whereas influx involves energy-dependent carrier proteins.     

Membrane-bound nucleotidase of Bacillus cereus.

A membrane-bound nucleotidase of Bacillus cereus T was solubilized by digestion with trypsin and subsequently purified more than 300-fold. The purified nucleotidase was most active on ribonucleoside 5'-monophosphates and was slightly less active (40 to 60%) on deoxyribonucleoside 5'-monophosphates and ribonucleoside 3'-monophosphates. In addition to hydrolytic activity, the nucleotidase preparation possessed phosphotransferase activity by which phosphate is transferred from a phosphate donor to the 5' position of nucleosides.